and also read the wheel
well page and you will be prepared in case of a flat.

SPARE TIRE Replacement - Due to age, Replace now.:

No spare tires to fit the Thunderbird are available from Firestone.
OEM type Replacement spares are available from MAXXIS:
T 185 60 R 17 MAXXIS
https://www.shopmaxxis.com/b2c/
1. Select the “Automotive Tires” section on the left side of the page.
2. The tire is located in the “Compact Spare Tires” section.

In the bottom of your trunk is the
spare tire (full size but narrower than on stock wheels), a jack, and a
Lug
Nut Wrench. In the 2002/2003, the wrench came in a felt
type storage bag. In 2004-2005, no bag supplied for wrench.
It lay in a groove in the bottom of the spare tire well.

Also included is a round, black
Button Cap sitting on top of the spindle. Be sure it's in place when
you put the Wheel Well cover back on or you might find the spindle eventually
making a hole in your Wheel Well Cover.

Trivia:
The
tires, as delivered on the car,, from the factory, were very over-inflated,
ie, set at around 45 psi. Please make sure your dealer has checked all
4 tires and brought them to specs before you take delivery. Over inflation
as it came from the factory was quite noticeable as a very stiff, jittery,
shakey ride and some might complain about severe cowl shake. Many
owners have complained about the ride only to discover that their tires
are still set at 45psi. Their dealership prep department did NOT check
the tire inflation.

FYI: Are you able to
use the 02/03 hub cap on the 04/05 wheel and vice versa? the
answer is NO! ( you could with drastic
modifications)

.

2004
2005 T-bird Wheels

Deluxe 2004/2005
17" wheel with 16 spokes ~ Silver painted
new style center caps with white "FORD" ring
Rumor ~ The painted 16 spoke wheels will be available
on the Premium models mid-year??? suspect that was an order sheet
typo error.

Premium standard 2004/2005
17" 7 spoke chrome wheel
new style center caps
This is the new standard style on the Premium Models:

Trivia: The valve stems on the deluxe and Neiman Marcus
wheels are located "below" the winged logo when installed. See picture
of the grey painted Deluxe wheel.

The Premium wheel has the valve stem located above the winged logo when
installed.

There may be a few painted wheels that are built like the NM wheel as
I came across a photo of a painted Deluxe with no "shoulder" on the wide
blades.

Wheels found on Concept Thunderbirds:

Finned, Chrome
On the 2003 Concept Supercharged model
(note the "retro" FORD letters around the hubcap)

Grey Painted
8 sectioned ~ 24 spoke
On the original concept model

Chromed
8 sectioned ~ 24 spoke
On the black Concept model

Lug Nut Wrench (tire
iron)

One end to help with removal of lug nuts.

Note: lug nut wrench with 2002s may or may not have the protective tube.
Be sure to use something to cushion the metal when removing hubcaps particularly
if your wheels are painted or "machined"

Use the flat end to help with removal of hubcaps.
Be sure rubber tube supplied with lug nut wrench is slipped down over
the curved flat end to reduce chances of scratching your wheels when removing
the hubcaps

Hub Cap Comparison

2004/2005

2002/2003

formal side of cap

2004

2002

backside of cap

The 2004/2005 hubcap is larger than the 2002/2003.
Though the snap on ring wire appears to be the same diameter, the
positioning & hold on clips would have to be cut off on the 04 hub
in order to slip on the 02 wheel thus losing it's holding ability to the
wheel. The wire ring is placed much closer to the plastic on the
02 hub and would not be able to snap into the built in snap ring on the
04 wheel. conclusion - they are not interchangable.

The 2002 spare is a full size spare but narrower than the stock wheel
and tires. A bit of trivia: the 2002 spare is a Firestone.
A little more trivia: Some of the earliest cars came with 4 Firestone
Firehawk WK LH 235/50/17. Possibly the preproduction models? This
would be one rare set of tires. All production models have been noted
as having the Michelins.
The 2005 spare tire is a Maxxis T185 60R17 made in Taiwan ~ Instructions
embossed on spare tire say Maximum tire pressure is 60# and Maximum vehicle
speed of 50m.p.h. (80k.p.h.)